Neknomination - an internet drinking game that involves filming oneself whilst necking a drink and then nominating a friend to follow suit - has become a craze among people.

A strange new internet craze called ‘neknomination’ or ‘neck and nominate’ has taken the world by storm. Neknomination is a drinking game, in which participants are supposed to complete a drinking dare and then nominate two other people to do the same thing within 24 hours. More specifically, this game is all about posting videos of themselves, drinking a pint of an alcoholic beverage in an extreme manner and then nominating others to out-drink them. Simply search ‘neknomination’ or ‘necknomination’ on Facebook, Twitter, Vine or YouTube, and you’ll find hundreds of thousands of videos, in which young people are seen drinking vast quantities of alcohol while performing various dangerous stunts.

This crazy internet ‘dare’ game is believed to have begun in Australia, after that it quickly spreads across the world via social media. Actually, it was started out as a fun drinking game, but now it has become the most dangerous craze on social media. The consequences of the game are getting more and more serious as the trend is getting popular. Earlier, people used to drink pints of beer in their videos, but recent videos show people downing alcoholic drinks in large quantities. Moreover, people are engaging in dangerous activities either during or immediately after consuming their beverage. For instance, several neknomination videos found online show people doing some really precarious stunts such as drinking as they skateboard down hills or drinking while driving motorbikes or jumping out of helicopters!

Participants of this game will tag their friend in their video. And as per the rule of the game, the nominated person must complete the task within 24 hours. In other words, the nominated person is actually pressurized to accept the dare. Those who refuse to accept the challenge often become targets for bullies. This is certainly a contributing factor to increasing popularity of the game.

Neknomination has become so dangerous that it has already claimed two lives. Jonny Byrne, 19, and Ross Cummins, 22, both from Ireland, have lost their lives after taking up the Neknominate challenge. Jonny Byrne’s body was found floating in the River Barrow at Milford bridge in Co Carlow. It is believed that he downed his pint and then he jumped into the river as a part of a nomination stunt. The teenager’s brother, Patrick Byrne, has issued a plea on Facebook, asking people to stay away from this dangerous drinking game.

Just a few hours before when Jonny’s body was discovered, Ross Cummins, who was just 22 year old, was found unconscious in a house in Dublin. He was taken to hospital, where he found died. Irish media reported that he was consuming spirits at the time of his death and that his extreme drinking was part of a Neknomination challenge.

Following the death of two youngsters, the Northern Ireland Neknomination Facebook page has been shut down, and it’s now turned into a Neknomination awareness page. After facing heavy criticism for claiming two lives, the creators of the Neknomination page decided to remove all the videos and decided to highlight the dangers surrounding the game.